International School of Design
| Institut Supérieur de Design | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Established | 1987 |
| Location |
 Pune |
| Website | Official website |
ISD Rubika (Institut supérieur de design in French) is a French grande école (literally, prestigious or elite school) of design management located at two sites, in Valenciennes (Northern France) and in Pune (Western India). It was founded by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Valenciennois region.
ISD and Rubika
Along with Supinfocom—an institute for 3D animation, film-making and computer graphics—and Supinfogame—an institute for video game, interactivity and simulation—ISD is part of Rubika, a consortium of institutes offering advanced training in digital creation and located on 3 campuses: Valenciennes (Northern France), Arles (Southern France) and Pune (India).
About ISD
Founded in 1987 at Valenciennes, ISD offers three 5-year European master's degree programs, certified Level 1 by the French government. ISD’s aim is to train designers to work in manufacturing and mass retail companies but its growing position as a leader in its field has now expanded to include strategic design (prospective design) as part of its syllabus.
Since its creation in 1987, ISD has been integrated into the international network of researchers, teachers and practitioners of design management and members of the Design Management Institute at Boston, USA .
Training
Since 1987–88 the institute has been offering pioneering courses: a Specialised Masters (MS) in Design Management (equivalent to 6 years’ higher education after the French Baccalauréat (A levels or high school diploma)) accredited by the Conférence des grandes écoles (Regional Group of Elite Schools) and the Mines de Douai Engineering Institute.
ISD also offers a Management in Engineering Design degree certified Level 1 and equivalent to 5 years’ higher education following the Baccalauréat, a Design Management degree (currently awaiting Level 1 certification), as well as a degree in Industrial Graphics and Digital Design.
Since 1987, ISD has been a member of the Administrative Body of the French chapter of the ACM SIGGRAPH international computer technology association.
The BAC + 5 courses in the Product and Transport specializations are certified Level 1 by the French government, the highest professional recognition awarded to any institute in France. ISD’s certificate is listed in the National Directory of Professional Certification (Répertoire National de la Certification Professionnelle).
Research in design
ISD’s Research-Transfer-Innovation unit conducts about 50 applied research projects every year with industrial, commercial and scientific partners. The other field of applied research concerns engineering pedagogy, developed on the basis of industrial forecasting, the evolution of tools and methods of product conception and mobility systems for goods and passengers. ISD has a ‘laboratory collaboration’ agreement with the Engineering Pedagogy lab of the ISEN Group.
ISD’s Scientific Committee includes 12 members from various companies and design institutes and is chaired by Jean-Marie Delbecq, President of the Pôle de compétitivité i-Trans (i-Trans competitiveness cluster). Thierry Gaudin, founder of the Prospective 2100 association is also a member of the committee.
As a member of the Conférence Régionale des Grandes Ecoles (Regional Group of Elite Schools) ISD has access to a network of engineering, management, architecture and journalism institutes in the Nord / Pas-de-Calais region. Training programmes and research projects are carried out in collaboration with other institutes, especially the Ecole des Mines de Douai engineering institute and ISEN, or 'Institut Supérieur d’Electronique et du Numérique (Higher Institute for Electronics and Digital Training).
Students
With 650 graduates thus far, and 340 students in 2008–09, (315 at Valenciennes, 25 at Pune), the ISD community in 2008 won over 50 prizes and design awards in France and abroad: 18 awards were given to ISD students while 34 went to ISD graduates. Nearly 30 organizations awarded the prizes, among others the prestigious Red Dot Awards, iF product design awards, Annual Design Review, and the International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA).
Admission
The admission process is organised 3 times a year: in February, during the Easter Holidays in April, and in June. It consists of one day of written test and the entrance interview. Candidates are accepted into ISD on the basis of their written exam, interview and personal portfolio.
The written exam tests candidates on
- graphical drawing
- creativity from constraints
- functional drawing
- multiple-choice questions on design / technology in daily life
- vehicle/product analysis
- product/vehicle conception.
A three-day campus workshop is organised for potential candidates in February and April (Easter holidays), to introduce them to design and enable them to choose their specialization. At the end of this workshop students will have created a workbook of product/vehicle creation which might be taken into consideration by the Admission Jury at the time of the entrance tests.
The program
The ISD program prepares candidates for three distinct job markets: product design, transportation design, and digital design.
The program comprises a 3-year foundation cycle and a two-year advanced cycle. ISD’s reputation comes as much from its strong partnerships with companies as from its systematic use of computer-generated images. Training given in inter-class ‘project teams’ enables students in senior classes to take on the responsibilities of ‘manager’, where they learn leadership skills that potential recruiters look for.
The first two years follow the trimester pattern whereas the last three years follow the semester pattern. Internships in design companies in France and abroad (40%) are conducted in semesters 4 and 6. A design management audit is conducted during the pre-employment internship.
Degree
The design management degree in product design, transportation design or digital design (awarded at the end of the five-year course) is delivered only after a satisfactory presentation in English detailing the projects carried out during the year, before an International Jury composed of managers and potential employers from Asia, North America and Europe.
Graduates in Product/Transportation Design Management acquire the following competencies and skills:
- Monitoring latest trends, analytic design, giving direction to the company’s design politic
- brief-design, conceptualisation and organisational development of products
- strategic design for the company
- managing a multi-disciplinary team for global design projects
- applying advanced methods and tools to industrial design
- creating communication aids that help top management with the decision-making process
Graduates in Digital Design Management have the following competencies:
- Monitoring technological and documentary advancements for computer graphics
- Writing a scenario, creating a synopsis, and 3D animation work
- digital engineering in software and hardware resources for industrial designers
- managing a team producing a 3D animation film, 3D relief etc.
- applying advanced methods and tools to digital design
- creating communication aids that help top management with the decision-making process
Job opportunities
ISD graduates find jobs in three distinct domains: product design, transportation design and digital design.
Students with a degree in Product/Transportation Design Management usually find a job in the following domains: transport & automobile, sports and entertainment goods, mass electronic sector, white goods and household equipment. These job roles are varied, and mostly belong to the mass retail, semi-perishable goods, and equipment sectors. However, an ISD candidate could find a job in almost every industrial sector.
General job roles include design manager, engineering design manager, product design manager, automotive designer, exterior automotive designer, interior automotive designer, industrial designer etc. But ISD designers also find themselves specialising as footwear designers, interaction designers, mobility designers etc.
Digital design managers on the other hand find jobs as Digital Designers, 3D Designers, Digital Sculptors and Alias Modelers.
Digital Design represents new growing job opportunities in the design field. Average first salaries have grown 25% in 2 years and now exceed the salaries of product or transport designers.